Time for media to provide an honest critique of police

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I couldn't choke my way past the words '...officers fight evil on different levels.'

Policing in this community and most others is sick and PTW's coverage of policing in this community onlyÂ stratifies the issue.

Let's face it, when a decision by the Honourable Patrick LeSage to better define the code of conduct by police officers is largely ignored by the provincial government, local andÂ national media there's a problem. The problem is systemic and your article does no less toÂ dispelÂ any myths about policing in our community and others. Instead your article seems to "big up" the police, as it were.Â

I myself have been called anti-police when in fact I'm not.

I believe the police serve a valuable function in this community and others. However, I am of the firm belief that cops in the community need to be of higher education, IQ and emotional quotient in order to better serve its inhabitants.

To quickly illustrate the issue of proper policing, let me tell you about an incident that happened a recent afternoon while strolling home to retrieve my phone.

As I was walking home, a police officer on a bicycle passed me and nodded at me.

I promptly gave him the finger.

The cop rode for a few blocks and then turned around and headed back in myÂ direction. He met up with me just as I was headed into my home on Bethune Street and he asked, "Hey Rob, did you get that money from Crime Stoppers?"

"What money?" I asked.Â

"That money for that drug tip you provided that got those guys busted."

Now, I know that I didn't provide any tip to Crime Stoppers and these are not the actions of normal police, so why is this cop taking my actions personally and targeting me?

Furthermore, we could delve into the actions of Toronto police when stopping and asking for information from black and brown men in certain parts of that city and thereby infringing on individuals rights. Or we could talk about the OPP's fight to silence the Schaeffer and Minty families by appealing a lower court's decision that the police uphold the rules and letter of law in regards to police injuries to the public.

Or how about we talk about police referencing the public as "civilians" when they themselves are a civilian police force.Â

Either way it would be great if PTW were to give a more balanced approach when addressing police matters, either as news or filler.